After Jesus death He met with the disciples in John 20:19-22: When therefore it was evening, on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and said to them, Peace be with you. And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples therefore rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me. I also send you. And when He had said this He breathed on them and and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit.
Not only did many wait in the Upper Room for instructions from Christ during Pentecost, even Paul at Ephesus emphasized the Holy Spirit in Acts 19:2-6: And he said to them, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? And he said to him, No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit. And he said, Into then what were you baptized? and they said, Into John’s baptism. And Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus. And when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying.
In Acts 10 it was challenging for Peter when he received the dream. Scripture tells us that he was perplexed in his mind because of his dream about the sheet being lowered down from heaven with clean and unclean food. He knew it wasn’t about food or diet. Ten years later, he still doesn't understand it is about people, until he goes to Cornelius house. Peter thinks it is still unlawful for a Jew to approach or come near a Gentile, which actually was just a tradition. He sees what God has done in Cornelius’ house and realizes at that moment the dreams is about people and he changes the way he evangelizes and relates to people. In Ephesians 2, God emphasizes His desire to make both groups into one, breaking down the dividing wall forming one new man producing unity.
We later find Paul writing about unity in Ephesians 4:1-4; I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling.
Our society today seems to have issues with anyone who disagrees with their beliefs. It is so easy to let things divide us. Just dismiss those who disagree. Paul allowed healthy debate. Differences of opinions were not a problem. Since Paul’s writings we have hundreds of years of doctrine….have we reached unity yet? We tend to think unity is to conform to what we personally believe. Paul challenges us to walk in a manner worthy of our calling with humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance with love.
With so many disagreements, people trying to control and manipulate, hiding the truth, unsettledness, unsure of their future and filled with anxiety, we must be able to communicate, challenge, comfort and exhort when we can. Our challenge is to communicate without an attitude and knowing everything where honor and love cannot be released.
In summary, God desires for us to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, release the gifts of the Spirit, recognize God really does desire unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, even though it may look impossible. And that is what makes His calling to us challenging but so significant!
